Please help--itchy foster dog
Ok, Milo has been itching like crazy for about a week now. He is not on flea preventative and gets regular flea dips and so far I saw maybe 2 fleas on him the entire time I've had him. I speculated that he may have developed a food allergy--most likely to corn and since took him off of Pedigree and moved him to what my furkids eat--Blue Buffalo. How long should I wait before I see if they will cover his vet bill?
Apparently the only time he didn't scratch was when he wasn't eating (he stayed at a volunteer's house from thursday til sunday evening) and he finally ate on Saturday where he began to itch like crazy again. I don't know what she fed them but I imagine it's something along the Pedigree or Iams side of the world.
Also, what else should I be looking for if it isn't food allergies? His poo is firm with the Blue Buffalo so I suppose it must be good for him--other than the itching. Is mange a possibility? He hasn't lost hair--yet.
I don't think I can take another night of him scratching and his nails scraping the bottom of his crate loudly or when he scratches and it sounds like someone is knocking and the Weimaraner starts barking at the bed before going outside to investigate.
Thank you for your help.
Apparently the only time he didn't scratch was when he wasn't eating (he stayed at a volunteer's house from thursday til sunday evening) and he finally ate on Saturday where he began to itch like crazy again. I don't know what she fed them but I imagine it's something along the Pedigree or Iams side of the world.
Also, what else should I be looking for if it isn't food allergies? His poo is firm with the Blue Buffalo so I suppose it must be good for him--other than the itching. Is mange a possibility? He hasn't lost hair--yet.
I don't think I can take another night of him scratching and his nails scraping the bottom of his crate loudly or when he scratches and it sounds like someone is knocking and the Weimaraner starts barking at the bed before going outside to investigate.
Thank you for your help.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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We know more about allergies than I would like thanks to Sparty. The best place to start is the food but it takes a couple weeks to really be sure. Also some dogs are very allergic to fleas. Sparty has to be on the topical flea preventative because it kills the fleas (not just their eggs). We use Advantix. He can not have a flea on him, it does not have to be an infestation. Those are two areas to start. After that you can start with food made with venison or duck and if that doesn't work a full blown allergy test may be needed. We give Sparty an allergy shot once a month. He is highly allergic to almost everything (house dust, thistle, dandelions etc) Good luck, it sounds like Milo is very lucky to have you!
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Permalink Reply by Corgibyassociation on
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Our Weim is in the same boat--except he doesn't need shots at least, which is why I thought it may be a food allergy. It kind of sprang out of nowhere. I'm going to see if I can get flea preventative from my vet instead of the vet they use for the animal shelter--I hate dealing with those people cause things take so long to get anywhere there.
Could I possibly give him some Benadryl to help?
Thank you, Bev Levy.
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Permalink Reply by Cindi on
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Ours did have food allergies. And we switched to Natural Balance allergy formula. It did help tremendously. However...during certain times of the year, they suffer. Our boy Tank is itching up a storm. Little guy has had a lampshade (and now a donut) on for several weeks to keep him from biting holes in his hide! The benedryl does help some. But it's just a seasonal thing. This year seems to be the worst. But it did take a couple of weeks for us to see the benefit in the new food.
Another thing we've tried is Sulfodene. We carry it at PetSmart and Patti tried it on Tank. He did have a time without the horrible itching and his skin wasn't as angry. Hopefully, it will help him through the worst of it. Best of luck to you. The itchies are really a pain.
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Oh yes, itchies are a huge pain! I know, I have eczema so I know how insane the itchies make you.
I also have some special shampoos from when Cloud had Staph infection. http://www.amazon.com/dvm-pharmaceuticals-HyLyt-Shampoo-12/dp/B0002...
http://www.amazon.com/Douxo-Chlorhexidine-Shampoo-DOGS-CATS/dp/B000...
would these be good to use for the hot spots?
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Unfortunately it depends on what is causing the allergies as to what will help. We did not try Benedryl because Sparty was on prednisone. Hopefully it is just fleas. He may have been exposed when he was out of your care. It really only takes a brief visit from the little buggers for a dog with a high allergy level to be a mess.
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I called his vet this morning as I couldn't take the itching any more than he could. They gave me Clemastine and Advantage. I told him I had a medicated shampoo from when Cloud had staph infections and said to go ahead and give Milo a bath too and wait a few days before applying the Advantage. She told me to wait a month for the food to go through his system and so far Blue Buffalo seems to be working for him.
Is there anything else I can do asides for washing his bedding?
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The prednisone eliminates the itching but it is strong stuff and must be used following the vet's instructions very carefully.
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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It sounds like you have a very unhappy little boy right now and I used to have eczema so I too hate to itch! If he's not on prednisone...I would definatly try the benadryl but call your vet for the amount...it should be so much per 5#'s of weight. I use frontline only at tick time...it lasts for 30 days and works for fleas too BUT please (if you try it and it works) don't continually use it as I believe that my cat died (kidney failure) early due to too much of something like this so I only use it when the ticks get bad...it takes abut 3 days and kill eggs too!
Where is he itching? ears? rear? all over? When I had my rescues we had to deal with yeast in the ears and I did treat with frontline but I felt so sorry for them as you could see it was just driving them crazy and then they would shake their heads also.
Good luck...hope you find out soon!
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I have eczema so I know all too well how he must be feeling right now.
He's itchy everywhere. I haven't really seen him go for the ears though--just neck, torso and legs.
Clemastine is an anti-histamine that's supposed to stop the itching. I'm supposed to give it to him every 12 hours to see how he's doing with that. We're returning the Pedigree to the shelter since we can't use it (due to corn.)
I don't know if I can give him Benadryl and the clemastine though--I know if he overdoses on Clemastine it can slow his central nervous system which is not a good thing at all. but will call vet...push comes to shove, I'll take him to a vet in town and ask for a steroid shot to give him temporary relief.
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Permalink Reply by Lou Ann Lemaster on
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I give Duncan one Children's Benedryl Meltaway when his allergies are acting up. (So much easier to give than the pill. Just pop one deep in the mouth and hold their mouth shut for a couple of seconds. It melts away.) He has a problem with corn and flour in his food it seems. Also, he has a problem with something in the early spring that drives him crazy, Good luck with the itchies.
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